ALL ABOUT   SWITZERLAND					OFFICIAL NAME ABBREVIATIONS
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All About Switzerland

Switzerland's Official Name

What is the official name of Switzerland? Where does the name Switzerland come from? What is the origin of the abbreviation CH (Swiss top level internet domain & car sticker), what does it mean and why can we read HELVETIA on Swiss coins and postal stamps? Why are Sz and SUI sometimes used as Switzerland's abbreviations?

Confoederatio Helvetica (Abbreviation CH)

vs.

Schweiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra Switzerland Suiza Suiça

mandatory CH car sticker to be found on all Swiss cars	Language	Official Name	Short Name	Abbr	Swiss stamps and coins are marked HELVETIA
	German*	Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft	Schweiz	Sz
	French*	Confédération Suisse	Suisse	SUI
	Italian*	Confederazione Svizzera	Svizzera
	Rumantsch*	Confederaziun Svizzer	Svizra
	English	Swiss Confederation	Switzerland
	Latin	Confoederatio Helvetica	Helvetia	CH

* German, French, Italian and Rumantsch are the four national languages traditionally spoken in different regions of the country. See also:
Why do the Swiss speak German, French, Italian or Rumantsch?

And which of all these names is going to win the race? Until August 2006, the official website of Switzerland's federal administration was showing, believe it or not: CONFOEDERATIO HELVETICA on its banner. But times are changing and so this has been replaced by a modern design in the four official languages.

What is the meaning of Eidgenossenschaft?

In German language, Switzerland is mostly referred to using Schweiz (and schweizerisch for Swiss), but conservative Swiss German people prefer the somewhat old-fashioned official name Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft (and eidgenössisch for Swiss). The German term Eidgenonssenschaft/eidgenössisch is in fact only used in Switzerland, it is composed from the words Eid [means oath] and Genossenschaft [means co-operative or mutual benefit association], so Switzerland's official German name Schweizerische Eidgenossenschaft refers to the legendary beginnings of the nation with the oath at Rütli.

Origins of the modern names for Switzerland

Schweiz, Suisse, Svizzera, Svizra, Switzerland, Suiza, Svizrija etc. are just different transcriptions of Schwyz, once the leading of the three founding member cantons [federal states] of the Swiss Confederation back in 1291.

In this respect Schwyz is the original name for Switzerland, referring to the political entity standing right at the origins of the country's independence.
More: the Origins of the Swiss Confederacy and the legendary oath at Rütli.

Origins of Switzerland's Official Latin Name Helvetia

Switzerland's old Latin name Helvetia comes from the Helvetians, the first tribe settling in this central European region we have written historic records of. The latin name Helvetia is still being used on Swiss coins and stamps.

It is also part of the two official abbreviations for Switzerland:
  ·CH [Confoederatio Helvetica] (mail, internet, cars)
  ·HB [2nd country code starting with H]
         (aircraft, radio amateurs: HB9)
hence:
  ·CHF = abbreviation for Swiss Franc (Swiss currency)

Why is Switzerland's Latin name Helvetia still being used?

As the modern name Schweiz (and its transcriptions) always evoke the notion of a leading role of German speaking canton Schwyz within the Swiss confederation, some minority groups are not especially pleased with it.

Switzerland's old latin name Helvetia on the other hand tries to focus on the older tradition that unites French and German speaking regions stretching from Lake Geneva in the southwest to the Lake of Constance (Bodensee) in the northeast of the country, that was once inhabited by the celtic tribe named Helvetians.
Learn more about the Helvetians.

In French language, helvetique (for Swiss) is being used quite often, and the 1798 Swiss Revolution, demanding for equal rights for all Swiss inhabitants and for the French speaking minority in the west of the country in particular, proclaimed the Helvetic Republic, referring deliberately to the old latin name Helvetia.
And here is an allegoric picture of Helvetia:

Helvetia Lost in Thoughts by Bettina Eichinger

HELVETIA by Bettina Eichinger Mittlere Rheinbrücke, Basel

... ONE DAY HELVETIA LEAVES A 2 SWISS FRANCS COIN MINGLES WITH THE CROWD AND MAKES A LONG JOURNEY ON HER WAY SHE ALSO COMES TO BASEL AFTER A FATIGUING WALK ACROSS THE CITY SHE LAYS OFF MANTLE SHIELD SPEAR AND SUITCASE RESTS ON A BRIDGE PIER OF MITTLERE BRÜCKE AND LOOKS THOUGHTFULLY DOWN RIVER RHINE ...

How to get there

Right shore of Mittlere Brücke, downstream side.
Trams 6, 8, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17 to stop Schifflände, then cross the bridge or
trams 6, 8, 14, 15, 17 to stop Rheingasse and walk back to the bridge.
GPS coordinates: latitude=47.560700 longitude=7.590700, map by google